It’s NBA Finals time, everyone, and even though it's just beginning, the race for Finals MVP is in full swing. The odds are out for which NBA stars are most likely to win the award, with Kevin Durant leading the pack and Kyrie Irving a bit of a longer shot to win this. Let’s take a look at the odds for this award as the playoffs start to ramp up.
(Odds courtesy of PointsBet Sportsbook)
Brooklyn Nets star Kevin Durant is the favorite here with +360 odds. The Nets and Durant finished their regular season on Sunday with a .662 winning percentage, which is the best in the history of the franchise. And Brooklyn is the team to beat in the playoffs.
Kawhi Leonard and LeBron James are tied in odds for Finals MVP at +600. Leonard and the Los Angeles Clippers are the Western Conference’s fourth seed and will face the fifth-seeded Dallas Mavericks to start the playoffs, avoiding playing James and the Los Angeles Lakers. The Lakers will face the Golden State Warriors in a play-in game on Wednesday. This would be a fifth NBA Finals MVP win for James, who is the first NBA player to ever win the Finals MVP award with three different franchises.
Giannis Antetokounmpo and Joel Embiid are also tied on this list with +850 odds. Antetokounmpo and his Milwaukee Bucks are set to face the Miami Heat in the first round. Embiid and the Philadelphia 76ers clinched the No. 1 seed in the East with a win over the Orlando Magic to finish up the regular season.
James Harden comes in on this list with +1100 odds. Harden helped lead the Nets to a win over the Chicago Bulls on Saturday before missing Sunday’s game for injury management.
Donovan Mitchell has a little bit longer odds with +1200. Mitchell and the Utah Jazz finished the regular season with the best record in the NBA, 52-20, and as the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference.
And then there is Kyrie Irving. Irving has +1400 odds to win the Finals MVP and became the ninth NBA player ever to have a “50-40-90” season with the Nets win on Sunday. But he also said after Saturday’s win that basketball is “not the most important thing” to him right now with everything going on “all over the world,” so who knows where his head will be in the playoffs.
Keep an eye on these odds as the NBA playoffs really get going. If nothing else, Irving is the MVP of thinking he’s better and cares more about humanity than everyone else.
Lucy is a sports betting content producer with Audacy and BetQL. She has worked with WEEI and Audacy as a writer, radio producer and podcaster. Lucy lives in Boston and loves Tom Brady and prop bets. Follow Lucy on Twitter at @LucilleBurdge.